


Rebooted Rivalry

by Clairacuddles (Clairanette)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, BDSM, Candace & Chloe, Collars, Consensual Kink, Consensual Servant, Dom/sub, Domestic, Domestic Discipline, F/F, Femslash, I don't even know what to put for this, I mean I guess Maids is still accurate but-, Like almost all of the tags from MH don't apply?, Maids, Master/Pet, Master/Servant, Master/Slave, Matron's Handmaiden, Mildly Dubious Consent, Mistress, Money Troubles, Prostitution, Rivalry, Sex Work, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 17:47:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29068272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clairanette/pseuds/Clairacuddles
Summary: lots and lots and lots of incoherent mumblingi hate that i'm even writing this but here i go i guess, someone- who will remain anonymous until they've chosen otherwise- really really desperately wanted a Matron's Handmaiden AU without the violence and evil and mafia stuff, so here it is.Just in case you were wondering, this takes place four years prior to Matron's Handmaiden andIS NOT CANONICALEven so, if you have not read Matron's Handmaiden and would possibly like to, please do that first, because this still contains spoilers for the main story.
Relationships: Candace St. Clair/ Sophia Cavalier
Comments: 7
Kudos: 15





	Rebooted Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Matron's Handmaiden](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25171231) by [Clairanette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clairanette/pseuds/Clairanette). 



> _lots and lots and lots of incoherent mumbling_  
>  i hate that i'm even writing this but here i go i guess, someone- who will remain anonymous until they've chosen otherwise- really really desperately wanted a Matron's Handmaiden AU without the violence and evil and mafia stuff, so here it is.
> 
> Just in case you were wondering, this takes place four years prior to Matron's Handmaiden and **IS NOT CANONICAL**   
> Even so, if you have not read Matron's Handmaiden and would possibly like to, please do that first, because this still contains spoilers for the main story.

“Look at her, Candace.”

Molly propped her elbows up onto the counter, staring off across the coffee shop at a young hispanic woman that regularly stopped by every afternoon when she was off of work. 

“Vivien you mean?” 

Candace turned away from what she was doing, glancing over at the arts student across the store, recognizing her from all the times Molly had mentioned her, as well as all of the times she had driven the girl home after work. 

“Yeah.” Candace’s younger silver-haired coworker couldn’t keep her eyes off of the other girl. “Isn’t she pretty?” 

“Isn’t who pretty?” Vivien looked up from her book, glancing over at the silver-haired barista and then back towards the door. Molly was a bit of a loudmouth, but Vivien was thankfully not very smart. “Who are we talking about?” 

Molly sighed, lowering her head in defeat for the day. “Nobody… it’s nothing.” 

“Oh, okay.” Vivien shrugged, smiling over at the other baristas before getting back to her book. “Sorry…” 

Candace chuckled, shaking her head and Molly’s attempts to catch the other girl’s eye. Her coworker was still a little bit too young just yet, but if she gave it a couple more years she’d have a better chance at the girl. 

“Ahem.” Candace was brought back to attention by the other girl she was just attending to, sitting across the bar from her in the otherwise empty coffee shop as the girls began to close up for the day. “My laptop?” 

“Right, sorry.” Candace nervously fumbled with the laptop, running through the diagnostics to figure out what was wrong with it. “Umm-” 

“Can you fix it or not?” Aria, the girl who was very impatiently waiting for her device to be repaired, was Candace’s ex-girlfriend, she normally only came in when she needed Candace’s help with technical issues. 

“I don’t know.” Candace smiled, not wanting to admit that she still didn’t know what the problem was. “Maybe you can come over tonight and I can figure out what’s wrong when I get home?”

“Yeah… No.” Aria sighed, taking the laptop from the barista and closing it. “I’m gonna head home then.” 

“Am I gonna see you tomorrow?” 

“Umm… I don’t know, the girls and I were gonna go out for drinks tomorrow night.” 

“Oh.” Candace blushed, biting her lip nervously. “Am I invited?”

“Yeah, about that-” Aria avoided the question, trying to come up with excuses. “It’s Autumn, you know… she doesn’t really like you.” 

Candace frowned. “She doesn’t?” 

“No…” Aria picked up her laptop and slid it back into her bag. “Not really.” 

Candace didn’t bother saying anything after that, letting Aria pack up and leave in peace. Watching Vivien get picked up from the coffee shop by her parents, while she and Molly slowly closed the shop. 

“You know she only uses you for free tech support right?” Molly sighed, feeling more than a little bad for Candace. “Like I know Vivi’s not all that smart, but at least she likes being around me.” 

“I know, I just…” Candace sighed, finishing up with closing and locking the door behind them both as they left. “I can’t help it, I don’t want to say no… she’s one of my only friends.” 

“What happened to that other girl you were talking to?” Molly opened the passenger door, climbing inside the car for her older coworker to take her home. “What was her name?”

“Sophia…” Candace sighed, turning on the car and pulling out of the lot. “We don’t really talk anymore.” 

“I’m sorry, hon.”

“No, it’s fine… she didn’t get the scholarship, that’s all.” 

Candace’s father had been in and out of prison while Candace was going through elementary to high school, but he was out now, and he was fairly wealthy. So wealthy in fact that Candace’s father had set up a scholarship foundation at the university his youngest daughter attended, as well as offering to pay for her full tuition as a student there, to make up for lost time with his family. 

Candace St. Clair had effectively grown up with two mothers instead, Alecia St. Clair- her biological mother, and Lilith Mariam- the mother of both of her older siblings. Once their father had gone to jail, for whatever it was he had actually gone to jail for, the two women thought it better to try and stick together so that the three siblings wouldn’t need to be split up as children. And the two women had fallen for each other in the process.

But this wasn’t about Candace’s gay moms, this was about Candace’s failing gay love life. 

She dropped Molly off at her parent’s house before heading home, stepping into her lonely apartment to be greeted by her single little friend, a black tabby cat she had lovingly named Thea. 

“Yes yes, I haven’t forgotten to feed you girl, hush up.” She fed her cat like she usually did when she got home from work before heading back out to check the mail downstairs. Candace, despite being really cute and having a wealthy father, did not actually have a lot of friends- nor did get a lot of mail. But today it appeared she had gotten lucky. 

“Mmph…” She set the package down on her desk as she got settled in at her computer. “I forgot I even bought this.”

She didn’t even want to open it, she knew she had no one to even use it on, it was going to be useless to her anyways. No girl in her right mind would accept wearing it around her neck, because no girl in the world would choose to let herself be collared by Candace St. Clair. 

She sat down at her desk and opened up discord. No new pings, mentions, or DMs. No new messages, especially from Sophia. 

_Sophia…_

She had met Sophia Cavalier online about a year ago, and she had developed a massive crush on the girl. CSt.C, Candace, was a Master rank Starcraft player, and so was SoCavalier when she first played her. That’s where they met and eventually became discord friends, and then general online friends for the first time, but Candace hadn’t heard from Sophia Cavalier in several months. 

Candace’s father didn’t just pay for her tuition, he funded a scholarship for Esports at the college Candace attended. Candace was a part of the Esports scene locally, and she had offered Sophia the opportunity to apply for the scholarship because she had a crush on her, and she really wanted to meet the other girl. 

But Sophia didn’t get the scholarship in the end, and eventually the pair of girls just stopped talking. 

And Candace really missed talking to her.

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

Unbeknownst to Candace however, something similar was happening on Sophia’s end. 

She just recently finished moving into her new dorm, having flown halfway across the country to the new school she had gotten accepted into- and Sophia still felt really bad about lying to Candace about the scholarship she had applied for.

Because Sophia really did end up getting the scholarship. 

She had been really proud of getting the scholarship too, but when she had gone to Candace to tell her about it, she had found out that Candace **hadn’t** gotten the scholarship. She had been good friends with the other girl, and Sophia couldn’t help but feel guilty that she had gotten the scholarship and Candace hadn’t. 

She had called it stupid, and Sophia could only assume that it had been because the girl had applied for the scholarship and gotten denied, even if that hadn’t really been the case- even if Candace really felt embarrassed that she had recommended a scholarship funded by her father to an online friend she had a crush on. 

“So how do ya like the room~???” Sophia’s new roommate, Darcey, had moved in first and was now eagerly helping the other girl move into the flat. 

“It’s really nice, I like how you’ve decorated.” Sophia gave her a friendly smile. She had grown up in a foster home, sharing a bedroom with three other girls- or three other boys at times. Sharing a bedroom with a roommate was going to be nothing new for her. 

It was a simple little dorm for just the two girls: complete with beds, desks, wardrobes, shelves, and a bunch of extra space as well as a bathroom for just the two of them. 

Sophia was quite good at making friends, even if she wasn’t great at keeping them, so the two hit it off pretty quickly. They traded class schedules and contact information, friended each other on discord, and even arranged the room the way they liked. The only thing left was to figure out chores. 

Sophia wasn’t the greatest at keeping the place clean, so they left Darcey in charge of making sure that the whole place was clean and organized, as long as Sophia took out the trash and made sure to keep the laundry situation under control. 

Darcey had a car, but Sophia did not- so at least her new roommate was nice enough to drop her off for her first day of work at her new location, which was extremely boring. But once it was over, Sophia had to take the bus home, cursing herself for her low income and lack of funds to purchase dinner tonight. 

“Hrmm…” She mumbled under her breath, trying to drown out the sounds of a hungry stomach as she sat down at her desk, scrolling senselessly through social media that she didn’t use- but Darcey insisted that she join. At least she had convinced her now sleeping roommate to get a discord, that was nice. 

_CStC…_

She stared at her screen, looking over the last conversation she had with her now former internet friend. It had been at least six months since their last conversation back in February, a silly back and forth between single girls on or around Valentine’s day, back when the two of them were already drifting away and Sophia had a massive crush on Candace. 

She **still** had a massive crush on Candace, it was thanks to her that Sophia was even in school at all, she didn’t like being a student and she wouldn’t be doing it if it weren’t for the Esports program she’d been accepted into. She was very appreciative of Candace for making her aware of the opportunity, and she still felt bad that she was here and the other girl most likely was not. 

The last conversation they had had before Valentine’s day had been a month prior, when Sophia lied to her about getting rejected by the scholarship, which she was still drowning in doubt over. 

She took a deep breath, gathering her courage and typing out a big long message to the other girl on discord, explaining how she had gotten the scholarship after all and how she was sorry for lying about it and telling her that she felt guilty- before deleting it all and closing out of her DMs with CStC entirely. 

_Don’t bother her, Sophia. She doesn’t care to hear it, and she doesn’t want to talk to you anymore. She never liked you the same way you liked her._

Sophia sat around, returning to browsing the internet for senseless nonsense for a few minutes, before suddenly- Candace had messaged her. 

_CStC: Hey. Were you typing something?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Oh hey, sorry… it was a bunch of misclicks, my bad._ _  
__CStC: Gotcha. Np._

She couldn’t believe it, Candace had noticed her typing. There were a few moments of Sophia just staring at the screen, sighing to herself at how stupid she was. But after a little bit, Candace sent another message. 

_CStC: Sorry for bothering you._ _  
__SoCavalier: You weren’t, it was my fault anyways._ _  
__CStC: It happens~_

Sophia just stared at the screen, wondering whether or not Candace still thought of her as a friend at all before incredibly- she got yet another message from the girl. 

_CStC: So, How have you been?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Not… great?_ _  
__CStC: I’m sorry… should I leave you alone then?_ _  
__SoCavalier: No! It’s okay, i promise~_ _  
__CStC: I hope you feel better soon._ _  
__SoCavalier: i’ll be okay._

Candace didn’t really message back after that one, and Sophia couldn’t blame her. The time since they had been friends was long gone, and she had never really been a good friend anyways. 

A couple of hours passed in the silence of night as Sophia lied in bed awake and on her phone. She couldn’t wait and hope for a response any longer, she had work in the morning and she needed to sleep. But in her sleep addled state, her impulsive ADHD brain forced her to send Candace one last message. 

_SoCavalier: i miss talking to you._

And then she went to bed. 

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

_Fucking hell, really?_

Candace sat on the sofa, staring at her phone. Her previous message had not sent like she thought it had, having typed out- _I hope things get better for you soon_ \- in response to Sophia’s message- _i’ll be okay._

But now she had a new message- _i miss talking to you_ \- to which she had accidentally responded by sending that pre-typed message still sitting in her phone since last night. 

_CStC: Hey. Were you typing something?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Oh hey, sorry… it was a bunch of misclicks, my bad._ _  
__CStC: Gotcha. Np._ _  
__CStC: Sorry for bothering you._ _  
__SoCavalier: You weren’t, it was my fault anyways._ _  
__CStC: It happens~_ _  
__CStC: So, How have you been?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Not… great?_ _  
__CStC: I’m sorry… should I leave you alone then?_ _  
__SoCavalier: No! It’s okay, i promise~_ _  
__CStC: I hope you feel better soon._ _  
__SoCavalier: i’ll be okay._ _  
__SoCavalier: i miss talking to you._ _  
__CStC: I hope things get better for you soon._

She was cursing herself out loud in her empty apartment for being so stupid. 

_“I hope things get better for you soon”_ is how she responded to _“i miss talking to you.”_ \- not with _“I miss talking to you too!!”_ or even with _“I’m always here if you need somebody to talk to.”_ but with _“I hope things get better for you soon.”_

“Amazing, she is never going to want to message you again. Great going, stupid.” 

Candace worked the morning shift, her mind never once drifting off the thought of Sophia while she worked. But once 3:30 rolled around, she was permitted to leave. 

Trying to put her conversation with Sophia behind her, she drove across town towards campus, stopping by gamestop on her way home. Her online crush might not have made the team, but Candace still had a commitment to keep to the people who did make the team, and that meant buying enough copies of whichever games they were going to be playing once the semester started. 

“Can I help you find anything today?” The store was almost entirely empty at this time of day, the only employee in the store seemingly being a short but cute redhead girl standing behind the counter, trying very hard to pretend like she wasn’t on her phone. 

“Hi, sorry…” Candace sighed, awkwardly stepping towards the desk. “I have a bunch of pre-orders to pick up, if that’s okay?”

The girl smiled, nodding her head as she clicked through the store computer. “Can I have a name?” 

Candace took a deep breath, bracing herself before she had to say it. “Cardinal.”

“Cardinal…” The girl murmured Candace’s deadname under her breath, not realizing that that was what she was doing. “Sorry… it’s my second day here, I’m still remembering codes and stuff.” 

“It’s fine…” Candace sighed, trying her best not to stare at the nice woman. 

She was really pretty too, peachy orange hair, gorgeous hazel eyes, some freckles here and there. She was way out of Candace’s league though, and even Candace recognized that. She did seem to be new here, Candace hadn’t seen her around before. She wasn’t even wearing a nametag, and Candace was too nervous and shy to ask her what her name was. 

“I’m just going to be a sec, promise.” The woman smiled before heading to the back room, returning with armfulls of what Candace had pre-ordered for the team, already packed away into plastic bags. “Do these all look like yours?” 

“That would be it, yeah…” Candace felt like a dork taking them all from her, but she went ahead and paid for it all, slinging the bags over her shoulders. 

“Can I help you with anything else today?” 

“That’s all, but thank you.”

“Of course!!” The girl gave her one last smile and a wave as she walked away. “Have a good afternoon, Ms. Cardinal~”

Candace stopped, considering correcting her before deciding against it. It just wasn’t worth the effort. A quick glance back at the woman confirmed that she was already tuned out and on her phone by the time Candace got to her car door. 

Candace’s phone vibrated as soon as she sat back down in her car. 

_SoCavalier: Do you still play Overwatch at all?_

It seemed like Sophia had completely skipped over the last message, eager to move on to something else entirely.

 _CStC: All the time, why?_ _  
__SoCavalier: i think my rank has gone down since we last played :c_ _  
__CStC: Damn, weren’t you Masters in that?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Yeah, but i got dropped down to low diamond._ _  
__CStC: That’s terrible?_ _  
__SoCavalier: i was thinking about picking it back up after work… if you’d like to play with me?_ _  
__CStC: I just got off of work, and I have nothing better to do tonight._ _  
__SoCavalier: You still main Mercy, right?_ _  
__CStC: Mhmm!! You?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Was thinking of trying out Pharah, so you were the first person to come to mind, that’s all~_ _  
__CStC: I’m down for some quick play games if you want to try her out?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Cool!! i’ll message you if something comes up~_ _  
__CStC: Same here._ _  
__SoCavalier: Gotta go, talk later?_ _  
__CStC: Of course._ _  
__SoCavalier: See ya then!!_

Candace let out a sigh of relief, glad to see that her online friend somehow didn’t hate her guts. But at least they were talking again, and Candace was excited to get to play with her.

✶ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✶ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦ ✶

Sophia rushed home after work, making sure to actually get herself dinner before sitting down at her desk. She hadn’t played in a while, so she did her best to get everything set up. But after about an hour and a half of trying and failing to get the game working in her nervous sweat, Sophia got cold feet. 

_SoCavalier: Hey, i’m sorry… something came up tonight :c_

She sighed, burying herself in blankets as she lied down in bed, letting her laptop reboot for the second time in a row tonight. 

_CStC: No big deal, hopefully we can play another time?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Yeah, for sure._ _  
__CStC: Just let me know._

She whimpered, putting her phone away and curling up with her favorite stuffed dog. 

_She almost certainly isn’t going to want to talk to you_ **_now_ ** _._

“You okay over there???” Her new roommate, Darcey, had taken note of the girl moping about in her bed across the room. 

“Yeah…” Sophia sighed, rolling over in bed. “I’m okay.”

The pair of girls went out together the next day, with Sophia’s new roommate taking her clothes shopping. 

“That’s gonna be $52.98.”

Sophia handing the girl behind the counter, Vivien, her card. She sighed to herself, only having picked out two things she liked and brought them up with her. She cursed herself for her low income, wishing she could afford more than two pieces of clothing without having to work four or five days a week, even while here on a scholarship. 

“Thank you, please come again~” The woman at the checkout waved goodbye as Darcey and Sophia left, new gifts in hand after a day of successful bonding. 

“You don’t work today or tomorrow, do you~?” Darcey was at least a little more well off than Sophia was. She was also here on a scholarship, amazingly enough, but she also had some money on the side to help her afford things like her car payments and new clothes. 

“No, I have the next few days off.” To anyone else listening, that sounded like a good thing- but not to Sophia. The poor girl didn’t have car payments or insurance to pay, because she owned no vehicle and was entirely uninsured. 

She would love to work more hours at her job, she still had phone payments and meals to pay for, but being new at the location she was at didn’t afford her any favors when it came to getting hours.Sophia got the absolute most boring hours of the work week, and that was only when she actually got any hours at all. She was lucky to work 24 hours a week, that was an eight hour shift three times a week, all of them ending up being closing shifts. To make matters worse, she was only making ten an hour, and that was only because she had transferred locations rather than applying new. 

“Do ya wanna stop for coffee?” Darcey smiled innocently, pointing off at the nearby coffee shop. 

“I just spent over fifty dollars.” Sophia sighed, staring down at her bittersweet bundle of new clothes. “Besides, I don’t drink coffee.” 

“Oh come on, you’re a nerd right~???” Darcey teased her, trying to be friendly about it. It wasn’t an insult, she didn’t really mean anything by it. “People stop there all the time to sit around on their laptops and play video games, you might meet someone new!!!” 

“You’re just trying to drop me off somewhere so that you can keep shopping without making me feel guilty, aren’t you?”

“Maybe a little bit~” Darcey smiled, chuckling nervously. “You just look so miserable, y’know?”

“Will you buy me a drink before you go?” 

“Of course~!!” 

_At least she’s being nice about it._

Sophia followed her roommate into the coffee shop, stepping up towards the counter to order from the silver-haired barista. 

“Can I get a name for that?”

“Darcey~!! D-A-R-C-E-Y.”

“Gotcha, we’ll call your name when the drinks are ready.”

“Thank you, Molly~” Darcey made sure to call the barista by the name on her nametag before she headed back to the table with Sophia. 

“What did you get me?” Sophia gazed over at the pretty women sitting at the countertop, one of which was over to the side fiddling with her laptop. 

“A fruity açai drink that I like a lot~” Darcey sat down right next to her, giggling to herself. “Who ya lookin’ at??” 

“Ssshhh!!” Sophia hushed her, quickly getting red in the face. “Don’t say things like that out loud.” 

“What, is there a cute boy you’re into that I’m not seeing?” Darcey quieted slightly, but not by much. “I’m not really great at judging boys by their cuteness, so you gotta tell me who~”

“There’s no boy.” Sophia whispered, getting all flustered just thinking about it. “I’m not into boys, okay?” 

“Whoa, really???” Darcey got all excited hearing that, talking just as loudly as she had been just two seconds prior. “So you’re gay then, right?” 

“Can you please quiet down?? I don’t want everyone in the world to hear you??”

“Why, what’s the problem?” Darcey giggled, rolling her eyes at how shy the other girl was being. “I’m gay, and I don’t mind everyone knowing.”

“Wait, you are?” Sophia was almost surprised to hear her say that. Darcey was such a bubbly bimbo that she had taken the girl as a normal college girl, head over heels for every boy she sees. “You’re kidding, right?” 

“I’m always kidding!! But I’m not lying!!” Darcey’s statement was an oxymoron, one that she was very proud of and very serious about. “Lots of people around here are some shade of queer, I technically identify as pansexual but… girls are real cute, you know?”

“Y-yeah…” Sophia blushed, giving the other girl a faint smile. “They are, I know.” 

“I have all the hot gossip if ya want it?”

“Sure?”

“That girl behind the counter, the one who dyes her hair silver.” Darcey gestured towards Molly without making it obvious. “She’s got a real big crush on that nice girl who sold us those clothes down the street- she comes here every afternoon when she gets off work, waiting for her parents to come pick her up. She doesn’t even realize the barista has a crush on her.”

“Fascinating…” Sophia grinned, glancing down the street at the shop where they’d just finished shopping at. “What else is there?”

“The lady whose pharmaceutical company I intern for.” Darcey paused, scanning the store for the person she was about to mention to make sure they weren’t here. “Well, her little sister works here too, and she’s as sapphic as they come.”

“Sapphic?” Sophia was surprised that Darcey even knew that word. “Wait, a pharmaceutical company?” 

“Yeah, I’m working towards becoming a pharmacist.” Darcey smiled, almost proudly. “And sapphic means-”

“I know what sapphic means, Darc-”

“Darcey?” The silver haired girl behind the counter called out the girl’s name, letting them know that their drinks were ready. 

“Oops, that’s us.” Darcey winked at Sophia, jumping up to her feet and heading over to the counter. “That’s me~!!”

“Here you are, Miss.” Molly smiled at her, handing over the two drinks. “Enjoy~”

“Hey hey, is Candy here?” 

“She’s got today off, actually.” 

“Awww, that’s lame.” Darcey gave her one last smile before heading back to the table with the drinks. “Anyways, I gotta run.” 

“Run where?” Sophia took her drink from the other girl. “I thought you were just doing more clothes shopping?” 

“Yeah that too, but I also have to grab some things for school.” Darcey didn’t even bother to sit down before leaving. “Be here when I get back?”

“Where else would I go?” Sophia sighed. “I don’t know the town.”

“Yeah, that’s my point. You **could** go exploring~”

“I’d rather not, so… yeah, I’ll be here when you get back.” 

“Okaaaaay, call me if you need me.”

“I will, thanks.” 

Sophia just sat there, shyly glancing around the room as soon as Darcey had made her way back out. Now what was she supposed to do?

She didn’t have very many friends at all, the few that she had were back in San Francisco, like the kids from the foster home she grew up with, or her coworkers back across the country- including her ex-boyfriend. She did **not** want to think about her ex-boyfriend right now, so there was really only one thing she could think to do- and it wasn’t making new friends- it was playing video games. If she could somehow finally get the game to work, that is. 

_Good thing I brought my bag with me._

“This had better be important.” 

A couple hours of failing to get the game working later, strangely enough, that same platinum blonde who’d stopped by the store just yesterday afternoon stepped into the coffee shop, making a beeline for the woman at the side of the makeshift bar. 

“It’s _still_ not working.” The woman turned her device to the girl who’d just walked in, gesturing towards it in an almost expectant way. 

“And you made me drive all the way out here on my day off instead of coming to my apartment?” 

“Well **I** didn’t know it was your day off!!”

“That’s because you don’t talk to me!!” The new woman quite angrily sat down next to her at the counter, scoffing under her breath. “If you called or texted or even **asked** at all, I’d be able to tell you when I work and when I don’t.” 

“Look, do you know how to fix it or not?”

“Yes. I figured it out a few nights ago… which you would have known if you came to get it fixed yesterday when I asked you to.” 

“When did you ask me that?” 

“Two days ago over text, and again yesterday morning- but you didn’t respond.” She sighed, quickly getting the girl’s problems fixed in the matter of a few minutes. “There, happy?” 

“Very!!” The arrogant woman giggled at her, closing her laptop and putting it away, ready to get up and brush the blonde off almost immediately. “Thank you~”

“You’re… welcome.” She almost sounded broken-hearted as she watched the other girl get up and leave, slumping down onto the counter in front of her. “Right… just leave then, see if I care.” 

“You okay?” The silver-haired girl behind the counter stepped up to her, trying to offer her condolences. 

She sighed. “Can I please just get an iced tea?”

“Sure thing.” Molly nodded at her. “It’s on me.”

“Thank you…” 

Sophia glanced over at the girl before looking back down at her laptop, staring at the broken client installed onto her desktop. She recognized the girl from just the previous afternoon when she came into the store to pick up some things that she had pre-ordered. Whoever she was, she seemed to be good with computers, and she shopped at gamestop- so maybe she would be able to fix Sophia’s problems?

“Hey, ummm…” Sophia walked over to her, trying to get her attention. “Cardinal, right?” 

“Please don’t.” The woman sighed at her, gently rubbing her temple with her hand. “Sorry, I mean… I don’t want to seem rude, can I help you with something?” 

“Oh, well I umm-” She swallowed nervously, instantly feeling guilty for bothering the girl. “I don’t have a lot of money to pay you with, but I was wondering if I could ask for your help with a computer issue, if you’d be willing to do that?” 

“Depends…” She sighed, taking her bottled iced tea from the barista. “What kind of issue is it?” 

“Well, I’m having trouble with this launcher I use for my games, and I remember you stopping into gamestop yesterday-” 

“Yeah… you’re new there, right?”

“Yeah… I am.”

“Which launcher is it, Blizzard?” 

“Yeah, actually…” 

The blonde woman rolled her eyes, but nodded. “Bring it here.” 

“How much do I need to pay you?”

“Nothing, just…” She sighed, forcing herself to give Sophia a smile. “Bring it here and I’ll take a look at it, okay?” 

“Thank you so much for this.” Sophia rushed back to her laptop, picking it up and delivering it to the table where the other woman was sitting. “Do you need me to log in or anything?” 

“No, just leave it.” She took the device from Sophia, taking a few minutes to just get a look at it to see what the problem was before beginning to address it. “There, see if it works now?”

Sophia took the device from her, walking it back to her table to see if it works once she had finished. “It’s working now!!” 

“Anything else I can help with?”

“No, actually… that’s all I needed, thank you Ms. Cardinal.” 

She sighed, biting her lip out of frustration. “Don’t mention it, **Darcey~** ” 

Sophia opened her mouth to correct her before stopping herself, turning back to the half empty drink with her roommate’s name written onto the side of it. She had clearly bothered the woman enough already, it was probably best to leave her alone now. 

_SoCavalier: Overwatch tonight?_

The redhead instead turned to her phone, excited to get back to her online friend on the off-chance that they could actually play the game tonight. The phone vibrated slightly in her hand with every key she pressed, before she finally pressed enter and sent the message. 

Before she got a response from Candace, she nearly instantly heard a loud buzz coming from the blonde girl sitting at the counter, the one who had just fixed her computer issue for her. The woman picked up her phone and looked at it, smiling to herself for just a moment before frowning and sighing, typing something into it and clicking send before setting her phone on the table, face down. 

Sophia’s phone vibrated as well, popping up with a new discord notification from her friend. 

_CStC: Not tonight, I’m sorry. I’m having a really bad day today._

Sophia looked at it and frowned, beginning to once again type something into her phone before deleting it, realizing that she was once again bothering someone who didn’t need to be bothered. 

She glanced over at the woman beside the counter, she was staring at her phone and expecting a message from whoever she was texting, but after a few minutes of not getting an answer, she went ahead and sent them another message. 

_CStC: Some other time?_

Sophia picked her phone back up, smiling at the message- an indication to her that she wasn’t bothering her as much as she had feared. 

_SoCavalier: Free tomorrow?_ _  
__CStC: Work tomorrow._ _  
__SoCavalier: What time tomorrow?_ _  
__CStC: Afternoon to close :/_ _  
__SoCavalier: Some other day then, yeah._ _  
__CStC: Yeah… I’m sorry._ _  
__SoCavalier: No big deal!!_  
 _CStC: I gotta go for now._ _  
__SoCavalier: Talk later!!_ _  
__CStC: For sure~_

The girl at the counter might have been too exhausted to notice, but Sophia was smart enough to figure out what was going on- because at least from where she was sitting, it very much looked like she was messaging back and forth with the blonde girl. 

_SoCavalier: Where do you work anyways?_

Sophia sent her one last message, but by then the other girl had gotten up and left, heading back to her car and presumably heading back home, and the poor redhead didn’t get another message from her for the rest of the night. 

“She couldn’t be…” Sophia blushed, staring down at the girl’s profile on discord, admiring her profile picture- a purple cat woman with red and blue eyes like 3d glasses. “Candace?” 

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_CStC: Nowhere very impressive, I assure you._

Candace went home, fed her cat, crashed, went to bed, got up the next morning, fed her cat again, and got ready for work. Now here she was, working her stupid job all by herself without any real customers at all, instead of playing video games with a really cool girl she met online and hadn’t talked to in a while. 

It was ironic, really. Candace didn’t need the money, she had lots of money, she only worked here because she needed human connection. That was why she had refused that pretty redhead woman’s money, because she was in this to make friends, not for money.

Yet here she was, her work being the thing keeping her away from talking with the friend she wanted to reconnect with. 

_SoCavalier: Yeah, but where??_ _  
__SoCavalier: Please be specific!!_ _  
__CStC: I would really rather not give away that information :/_ _  
__SoCavalier: Please?_ _  
__SoCavalier: Pretty please?_ _  
__SoCavalier: It’s important :c_ _  
__CStC: A dumb coffee shop._ _  
__CStC: There._ _  
__CStC: Is that specific enough for you???_

Candace stared at her phone for a few minutes, thinking that maybe she was being a little bit too aggressive, but she did eventually get an answer from her. 

_SoCavalier: i…_ _  
__SoCavalier: Yes, that’s perfect-_ _  
__SoCavalier: i’m sorry for being pushy :c_ _  
__SoCavalier: i have to go._ _  
__CStC: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound upset._  
 _CStC: I wasn’t trying to shout at you-_ _  
CStC: I’m sorry?_

No response. Great, Candace really blew it this time, even more than the last time. She was beginning to consider that she may need to give up on talking with Sophia entirely. They had drifted away so far and were having major trouble trying to reconnect, and she was never going to get to meet her in the first place. There was no sense in having a crush on a girl that lives halfway across the country anyways. 

“Is Molly not here today?” Candace’s attention was grabbed by that same hispanic girl who came in everyday after work, Vivien, asking for one of Candace’s coworkers. 

_So Vivien does know Molly’s name._

Candace chuckled, shaking her head at the poor girl. “Molly’s off the next three days.”

“Awe, really?” Vivien pouted, puffing up one of her very heavily freckled cheeks. “I was gonna ask if she wanted to go clearance shopping with me.”

“Trust me, honey.” Candace smiled at her. “If she were here, she’d say yes in an instant.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” 

“Can you tell her I was asking for her?”

“Of course.” 

Candace rolled her eyes, watching the girl take her usual seat towards the front, waiting for her parents to come pick her up and take her home. 

There was someone else coming in too, for the third day in a row, it was that redhead girl who works at gamestop, Darcey or something. 

“What can I get for you?” Candace smiled at her, trying to be a lot more friendly than she had been with her the previous day. 

“Uhh… something that’s not coffee or tea?” The redhead woman blushed, embarrassed to even be here today. “Something inexpensive, preferably…” 

Candace giggled. “On a budget?”

“New college student… so yes.” 

“How’s a free water and some food sound, then?” Candace made an offer to the girl, hoping to get her something she would actually enjoy. 

“I- Yes, please.” Just the sound of food made the girl’s stomach grumble, she had apparently not yet eaten. “A panini?” 

“What kind?” 

“Ham?” She got all flustered, considering both options. “No, turkey.” 

“Got it.” Candace rolled her eyes and rang her order up. “And the name… Darcey, right?”

“No, actually.” 

Candace looked up at her, a little bit surprised to hear that she had been wrong on her name the previous day. “What can I put you down as?” 

“Sophia.”

Candace went wide-eyed, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment at hearing the name, licking her lips nervously. “Right. I’ll call your name when it’s done.”

“Thank you so much, Miss…” The girl, Sophia, was also apparently reconsidering what to call the barista, getting a good luck at her nametag for the first time, her face just as red as the other woman’s. “Candace. I’m sorry for misnaming you… it’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s…” Candace didn’t really know what to say. “It’s fine… I’m sorry for doing the same.” 

“It’s okay, I never really introduced myself.”

“Yeah, me neither.” 

“Right, um… thank you.” 

The redhead girl nervously stumbled back to her table, wanting to get away from the barista as quickly as she could, burying her face in her laptop- headphones on to drown out the sound and everything. 

_She couldn’t be…_ Candace stared down at her phone for a moment, blushing just slightly. _But Sophia doesn’t go here…_

She swallowed nervously, glancing over at the only other people in the shop, Sophia and Vivien, before ringing up another sandwich to give to the redhead woman, paying for it herself. She seemed short on cash and starving anyways, it was a nice thing she could do for the girl regardless. 

“Sophia?” Candace called out the girl’s name once the food was done, as quietly as she could. She hadn’t gotten any new messages from the girl, and she didn’t want to arouse suspicion from anyone, so she just left discord be. 

“Here.” Candace set the food and drink down directly on Sophia’s table, getting out from behind the counter to hand deliver it to the girl. “I couldn’t remember which sandwich you ordered, so I just made you both.”

“Oh, sorry… I didn’t hear my name. I-” She blushed, looking up at her in disbelief. “I didn’t pay for two sandwiches…”

“It’s on me, don’t worry.”

“You mean that?”

“Yes, don’t worry about it.” 

Sophia blushed, giving the barista a shy smile as she nodded, glancing over at Vivien across the room for a moment before turning back to her game. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Candace left it with the girl, and walked back to the counter. 

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At this point it was clear to both girls what was going on, but neither of them knew whether the other recognized her, and both were too shy to say anything about it while there was anyone else in the room with them, and that freckly brunette girl was still here. 

They occasionally glanced at each other, rarely making eye contact but often staring at their phone, hoping for someone to say something while they were waiting for the other woman in the room to leave.

But Vivien’s parents didn’t really seem to come. This happened sometimes, her father would need to stay way late for work, and Candace would offer to take Vivien home when she was off work and the shop was closed. “Do you need a ride home today?”

Vivien frowned, turning back and nodding at Candace. “Yes, please.”

It was at this point, hearing Candace offer the other girl a ride home, that the redhead girl began to stand up and leave. She stared out into the dark night outside, now clearly realizing she wasn’t going to be getting a moment alone with the barista, and being too shy to say anything to her- even a goodbye. Sophia needed to catch the last bus back to her apartment anyways. 

“Can I give you a ride home too?” Candace smiled at Sophia, catching her outside at the bus stop as Candace and Vivien finished closing up, eventually leaving and heading back to the car. 

“I’m okay.” Sophia smiled at her. “But thank you…”

“Are you sure?” Candace blushed, trying not to make eye contact with her. “I’ll drop Vivien here off first… if you’d like?”

Sophia almost turned her down again, sighing and relenting to getting a ride home, it was going to be her only chance to be alone with the other woman anyways. “Okay… just don’t let me be an inconvenience.” 

“Of course.” Candace let out a sigh of relief. “Car’s this way~”

Candace did as she promised, taking the younger hispanic woman home first, leaving the two of them alone together in the car for the first time. 

“So…” Sophia was the first one to break the silence, staring out into the night through the window. 

“So-” Candace swallowed nervously, focusing on the road ahead as she drove. “Where are you from?” 

Sophia took a moment before responding, still not looking over at Candace. “San Francisco.”

“That’s on the opposite end of the country, what brings you all the way out here to Florida?” 

“A scholarship…” Sophia blushed, staring down at her feet now. “My friend showed me a scholarship I could apply for, and I got it.” 

“Have we… spoken before?” Candace looked to her right, making eye contact with the other girl for the first time since they’d gotten in the car. “Do I know you, Sophia?” 

“That depends…” Sophia blushed, pulling out her phone and showing Candace the screen with their DMs from discord. “Is this you?” 

Candace blushed, nodding her head at the girl. “That’s me…”

“Then yeah… we’ve spoken before.” 

“It’s nice to meet you.” Candace was over the moon to get to meet her former online crush for the first time, trying very desperately to make it look like she didn’t still like the girl. “Candace St. Clair.” 

“Sophia Cavalier.” The redhead girl was also over the moon. “You aren’t upset at me?”

“Upset at you for what?” Candace swallowed nervously, turning her attention back to the road. “For lying to me about getting the scholarship?” 

Sophia nodded. “Yeah… that.” 

“Only a little bit.” She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, sweating nervously. “Why would you lie about that?” 

“Because you said you didn’t get it.” Sophia frowned, staring back out of the window. “And I didn’t want you to get upset that I got it and you didn’t-”

“I didn’t apply for the scholarship.” Candace interrupted her, ashamed to even be admitting that she didn’t actually apply for it.

“You didn’t?” Sophia blushed, turning back to her. “But why not, you were the one that sent it to me.”

“I sent it to you because I wanted you to get it.” Candace steered the car with one hand, the other hand nervously fiddling with her hair. “I don’t need the scholarship… I have plenty of money-”

Sophia pouted. “Then why not just tell me that?”

“Because I was embarrassed, okay?” Candace sighed. “My father is the one who created and funded that scholarship, he pays for my school and I just… I wanted you to get the scholarship, but I didn’t want you to think I was a loser for trying to get you to sign up for my dad’s scholarship, okay?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” 

“I see.” Sophia smiled, giggling to herself. “I don’t think you’re a loser… I’ve wanted to meet you in person for months~”

“Actually?”

“Yes, actually…” Sophia rolled her eyes, looking up over the dashboard and seeing her dorm coming up soon. “Like I said, I’ve missed talking and playing games with you.” 

“Same here.” Candace grinned, slowly bringing the car to a stop. “Is this your dorm?” 

“Yeah, thank you.” Sophia smiled, undoing her seatbelt. “I’d love to play with you again, if you’re up for it?” 

Candace nodded, watching her slowly make her way out of the car. “I guess I’m down for a couple of matches of Overwatch tonight, if you’d like…”

“Actually… I was thinking maybe some other game?” Sophia paused, blushing nervously. “No teammates, just the two of us~” 

“I’d love to…” Candace nodded, waving goodbye to her friend. “Just the two of us.”

“Starcraft?” 

“Starcraft.”


End file.
